Category: Online Advertising

Google Preparing Option for iPhone Targeted Search Ads

Google has presented the option of displaying different ads on searches from iPhones during meetings with advertising agencies according to an article by the Adweek. Google representatives told Adweek that the option was under consideration, but would not confirm it. The separate iPhone ad group could be added to standard search campaign. Google already offers option of running campaigns targeting phones that browse the Internet using WAP.

Google Brings AdSense to Online Games

A post on the Inside AdSense blog announced the beta release of AdSense for Games, an advertising program for online games. According to Google, the program will support displaying video ads, image ads, or text ads before a game, after a level change, or when a game is over. Google is selling ad placement directly to “top brand advertisers” and providing contextually targeted text and image ads based on content and demographic information. Advertisers who are part of the program so far include Sprint, Sony Pictures, and Esurance. The program is currently enrolling publishers who have a minimum of 500,000 game plays per day and have 80% of their traffic from the U.S. or the U.K.

Online Advertising Grew 15.2 Percent in First Half of 2008

Online advertising revenue was 11.5 billion dollars in the first half of 2008, an increase of 15.2 percent, according to a report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Search advertising revenue show the largest increase of any format, an increase 23.6 percent to 5.1 billion dollars. Display advertising revenue, which includes display banner ads, rich media, digital video, and sponsorship, increased 18.8 percent to 3.2 billion dollars. Classifieds revenue decreased 5.2 percent to 1.6 billion dollars, referrals/lead generation revenue increased .8 percent to .8 billion dollars, and e-mail revenue increased 15 percent to .2 billion dollars. Performance based advertising accounted for 52 percent of revenue, with cost per thousand (CPM) accounting for 44 percent and hybrids accounting for 4 percent.

Delay Announced for Google-Yahoo Partnership

Google and Yahoo have announced that they have delayed the implementation of their search advertising partnership according to a article by Advertising Age. The partnership was to begin in early October, but will now not start until the U.S. Justice Department has concluded its review of the deal. There is no set date for the Justice Department to finish its review. Advertising Age also reported Google and Justice Department employees have been having informal talks for the last week.

Google Starts New Website as Part of Defense of Yahoo Partnership

Google has created a new website, yahoogooglefacts.com (which redirects to http://www.google.com/yahoogooglefacts/), to provide information about the planned Google-Yahoo search advertising partnership. In a post on the Google Public Policy Blog, Google said the website is intended “to provide more information on the agreement and why it is good for consumers, advertisers and website publishers.” The site includes a slide show about the partnership, answers to various question about the deal, quotes from supporters of the partnership, and a video of Google’s Chief Legal Officer David Drummond testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. Google has recently step up its effort to publicly defend the partnership, including challenging a report that the partnership would mean higher prices for advertisers.

Yahoo Announces Launch of Updated Advertising Platform

Yahoo has announced the launch of its new ad platform APT according to an article by the New York Times. APT, previously named Apex and AMP, is designed to simplify ad purchasing, by making it possible for advertisers to make purchases across a wide range of sites with one purchase. The platform also uses geographic, demographic and interest-based targeting to help advertisers to reach specific audiences. The platform is currently being tested on the San Jose Mercury News and The San Francisco Chronicle websites and the platform will expand to rest of Yahoo’s partners in its Newspaper Consortium later this year. The platform will open to advertisers, agencies and advertising networks in 2009.

eMarketer Projects Slower Growth in U.S. Online Advertising in 2009

eMarketer projects the growth in U.S. online advertising will slow in 2009 according to a article by Adweek. Spending in 2008 is projected to be 24.9 billion dollars, an increase of 17.5 percent, and spending in 2009 is projected to be 28.5 billion dollars, an increase of 14.4 percent. Spending is projected to again grow 17.5 percent in 2010, reaching 33.5 billion dollars. The projected growth is expected to exceed 20 percent, for the first time since 2007, in 2011 with spending projected to be 40.5 billion dollars.

AOL’s Platform-A Launching Ad Exchange in 2009

AOL’s Platform-A announced that they would be launching BidPlace, a self-service ad exchange, in the first half of 2009. The exchange will support cost per thousand (CPM), cost per click (CPC) and cost per action (CPA) bidding for advertising on AOL, on select partner sites and on Platform-A’s third-party network. These sites reach 90% of the online audience according to an August 2008 comScore Media Metrix report. According to Platform A the exchange will provide an automated interface that “will let advertisers create and manage their campaigns, define budgets, pricing, targeting and the frequency of their ad placements” and that “advertisers will receive detailed reporting on campaign and creative performance.”

Microsoft Signs First Partner for U.S. Expansion of Mobile Ad Network

Microsoft has signed it first U.S. partner for it’s mobile ad network ScreenTonic according to an article by Adweek. The deal with CNBC expands on a deal reached in December to sell as on CNBC.com. ScreenTonic, which Microsoft purchased in May 2007, has so far been focused on the European market. Brian Arbogast, corporate vice president of mobile services at Microsoft, told Adweek that “the company is working to build an extensive mobile network that mirrors its approach online, where the firm has concentrated on sewing up deals with big-name publishers such as CNBC, Facebook and Digg.” The U.S. ad network will show standard banner ads at first, with more advance options including video possible in the future.